RIALTO CHATTER: While 'SPEED' Moves Ahead, Is Piven Parked?

Broadway producers Jeffrey Richards announced in an official statement on Friday that, "The producers of SPEED THE PLOW have officially filed a grievance with Actors' Equity re: Jeremy Piven's departure. A date for the arbitration is to be determined."

Piven countered with his own response stating, "The claims made by the producers of Speed-the-Plow are absurd and outrageous. Mr. Piven's serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians. He withdrew from the play due to medical necessity on the advice of his doctors, after he was hospitalized and warned by his physicians that enforced rest was necessary in order to avoid serious medical problems, including a heart attack."

There is now rumors on the street intimating that the grievance was actually filed a week earlier than first reported but was kept quiet as SPEED producers didn't want any more negative press for the hit show. Sources also reveal that Piven's exit from the Broadway drama has given Hollywood producers pause regarding the Emmy winning actor. That being said up until the SPEED-THE-PLOW scandal he was sought after by industry executives and was celebrated by his peers in relation to his work in television and film. 

Jeremy Piven defended his sudden and shocking exit from SPEED-THE-PLOW in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" last Thursday morning.

Piven told GMA host Diane Sawyer was "brought to my knees" by his condition and said that on doctor's orders he "couldn't do it."

Jeremy Piven claimed he was too sick with "mercury poisoning" to show up for his Broadway show and abruptly left the production under a cloud of questions and mystery.

In a Dec. 18 statement the play's producers gave a statement regarding the Piven exit, "We have been advised by Jeremy Piven's medical representatives that he is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to Speed-the-Plow. Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early."

Piven was scheduled to perform throughout the show's run, which is scheduled to run until Feb. 22nd.

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz stepped into the role of Bobby Gould on Dec. 23rd at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, he has since left and Emmy winner William H. Macy assumed the role on January 13th.

The cast of Speed-The-Plow by David Mamet also features three-time Tony-nominee Raúl Esparza (The Homecoming, Company) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men). Neil Pepe (David Mamet's Romance, Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening) directs.

The show is playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (located at 243 West 47th St.). Tickets are sold through Telecharge.com or 212-239-6200.